A new Harvard Medical School study linking the loss of the metal lithium to Alzheimer’s disease is giving some hope to Long Island advocates, who said Friday it was a field where more breakthroughs were needed.

The seven-year study could help doctors detect the disease earlier in people, provide new treatments and give scientists a better understanding of the human brain, according to researchers.

The study is "the most hopeful thing that we've had in a while," said Tori Cohen, executive director of the Long Island Alzheimer's and Dementia Center in Westbury. "This type of information ... I feel should be jumped on."

Lauren Vlachos, executive director of the Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center in East Islip, called the finding "an exciting moment in Alzheimer's research."

"The recent H

See Full Page